German VDMA March Machine Orders Fall as Domestic Demand Slumps

May 2 (Bloomberg) -- German plant and machinery orders fell
in March as economic uncertainty depressed demand in Europe’s
largest economy, the VDMA machine-makers’ association said.

Orders, adjusted for inflation, fell 4 percent from a year
earlier after remaining unchanged in February, VDMA said today
in an e-mailed statement. Domestic orders slumped 15 percent
while orders from abroad rose 1 percent.

Signs are increasing that a recession in the euro area is
spreading to Germany, with manufacturing output contracting at a
faster pace last month. The Bundesbank still predicts the German
economy will expand 0.4 percent this year.

“Overall the numbers confirm the picture of widely
distributed uncertainty about the development of the economy,”
VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers said in the statement,
adding that foreign orders had only recorded growth in March due
to bulk orders from outside the euro area. “An effective
stimulus for the global economy is simply lacking.”